All I Ask of You
by Bard of Prey
Summary: Dick Grayson, Nightwing, returns to New Gotham to comfort Barbara on the hardest day of the year...the anniversary of the attack that left her paralyzed.


Disclaimer: This is a song fic, meaning that the lyrics of a song are interwoven with the story as an enhacement to the story itself. I did not write the lyrics to 'All I Ask of You.' It was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart for the Phantom of the Opera musical. I just happened to think it fit beautifully with Dick and Babs, and finally got around to writing the story to go with it.  
  
Author's Note: This fic deals with Dick's return to New Gotham. For those unfamiliar with the Bat-verse, Dick Grayson aka Nightwing was Bruce Wayne's very first Robin. He and Babs always had an interesting relationship, that has only become more interesting as time passed. The Author here assumes that Dick, being one of Barbara's close friends, kept in contact with her both as Dick Grayson and Nightwing over the last seven years. This deals with his most recent return to Gotham. Enjoy. G  
  
All I Ask of You  
By Bethany Davis (Ottiga@aol.com)  
  
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No more talk of darkness,   
Forget these wide-eyed fears.   
I'm here, nothing can harm you -   
My words will warm and calm you.   
  
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Barbara sat quietly in her clocktower apartment, surrounded on all sides by things familiar, but still feeling somehow lost in a strange, forgotten place. Over the past few years, she'd tried to hide, to occupy her mind with other things, to sleep the day away...but nothing would ever erase it from the calendar. It still glared back at her with a familiar mocking grin, the stuff of which her worst nightmares consisted. This was the anniversary of Batgirl's death...the Oracle's birthday. For all the time that passed, for all the courage she so easily displayed around others, this was the one day she allowed herself any weakness. The tower was shut down, sealed tighter than a tomb. She'd called in sick at New Gotham High, something she very rarely did. Dinah was spending the evening at Helena's. She was alone, and Gotham could do without the Oracle for twenty-four hours. They'd have to. She just didn't have the strength to deal with anything today. Not today.  
  
Every light in the apartment was on, chasing shadows into far corners, but unfortunately having little effect on Barbara's fears. She'd come to grips with her disability long ago. She was comfortable with who she was, but that didn't mean she didn't sometimes wonder what might have been; that didn't mean that she didn't sometimes watch Huntress and Dinah and long to join the fight, to walk just one more time. She never dwelled on it long, she knew better. Thinking about things that might have been would drive her crazy. Her reality was all that existed.  
  
Still, there was this one day...the one day she let just a little self pity sneak into her mind. This was the only day she allowed herself the novelty of tears. She bowed her head, covering her face with her hands, and let the sobs come. After all, there was no one here to see it. She was safe.  
  
"Barbara..."  
  
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Let me be your freedom,   
Let daylight dry your tears.   
I'm here with you, beside you,   
To guard you and to guide you...  
  
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She looked up quickly, her initial fear and surprise replaced with a look of betrayal. "Dick." Barbara wiped her tears away, trying hard to regain what composure she could. She hadn't seen him in so long. Their relationship had become so rocky. He pursued, and she tried desperately to parry his romantic advances. He hadn't been to New Gotham in months. Of all the times for him to visit, why now? Didn't he know how hard this day was for her? Couldn't he give her just a little privacy? Why couldn't he just leave her alone?  
  
"You're mad at me, aren't you?"  
  
She didn't reply verbally, only gave a curt shake of her head and looked away.  
  
"Yes, you are...but I'm not apologizing." Dick crossed the room in a few quick strides then squatted down directly in front of her face. "You're so good at being strong, Babs...but everyone is allowed to show a little weakness. It's what makes us human. You've locked yourself away like Rapunzel in this tower, hidden your emotions so deep inside that I wonder if even you can get them out, now. I love you...and I know you're really going to hate me for saying this, but I want to take care of you. There's nothing in the world I want more than to be here with you on this day every year, holding you until morning comes...until you can forget the fear. Please..." Tentatively, he reached up to cup her cheek in his hand. Without realizing what she was doing, Barbara leaned into it. Dick smiled softly. "I want to be your Knight in Shining Armor, Barbara. I want to carry you away from all of this."   
  
There was so much pain and hope swimming in Dick's piercing blue eyes as he stared at Barbara intently. "If you want me to leave, I'll go. Tell me what you want, Barbara...I'll give you anything I can."  
  
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Say you love me every waking moment,   
Turn my head with talk of summertime...   
Say you need me with you now and always...   
Promise me that all you say is true   
That's all I ask of you...  
  
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She wanted so badly to break contact, to look away from his handsome face, but she couldn't. Something in his eyes held her there, frozen in shock and fear. She was shaking with the intensity of that stare. "I don't know what I want anymore..." She admitted in a whisper, closing her eyes in an attempt to shut out his image.  
  
"You know, you're just too afraid to say it." Dick answered patiently. "I'll wait until you can, I have all the time in the world."  
  
Barbara wished more than anything that he would just leave and not come back. She would almost rather never see him again than face him for even one more minute. Why had he come today? Probably because it was the one day she didn't have the strength to refuse him. She was too afraid of being hurt, too afraid that Dick might not love her as much as he so earnestly believed he did. She couldn't tell him that more than anything in all the world, she just wanted someone to wrap her in a warm embrace and keep her there until the coldness of this day melted away. She wanted to believe in him and the love he professed, but she just didn't think she could. She'd known him before. She'd known Bruce and his reputation with women. What if Dick lost interest? He'd get tired of her so quickly. He'd grow bored with her limitations, and then she'd be worse off than before. Wade was handsome, sweet...stable, and ending their affair wouldn't destroy her. She couldn't give Dick her love, couldn't he see that? She could live with a broken spine...but she simply could not live with a broken heart.   
  
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Let me be your shelter,   
Let me be your light.   
You're safe: No-one will find you  
Your fears are far behind you...  
  
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Dick watched her silently, afraid to interrupt her thoughts with words. Instead, he took his life in his hands and very gently, very carefully, lifted her from her chair.  
  
Barbara's eyes shot open in surprise. She'd almost cried out. Now, she was thankful she hadn't. He would have probably put her back down...and she didn't really want to sit in that cold metal chair a moment longer.  
  
Dick sat down with her on the bed, carefully adjusting her so that she rested comfortably in his arms. He still dared not speak for fear of her reaction. He half expected her to hit him at any moment. Instead, she did something quite unexpected, she nestled into the comfort of his embrace and closed her eyes. He could actually feel her muscles relax, and that communicated more love to him than all of Shakespeare's sonnets ever could.  
  
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All I want is freedom,   
A world with no more night  
And you, always beside me,   
To hold me and to hide me...  
  
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Barbara could hardly believe what she was doing. She should have demanded he put her down. Her mind requested that she do so, even now. Although, there was another part of her, a much smaller part, that beckoned her to let down her guard. He'd said he loved her, he'd shown her in his own little way a hundred times. He was here now, not because he wanted to attack her at her most vulnerable moment, but because he wanted to protect her from herself. All she had to do was let him.  
  
He was right about so many things. She was so afraid to let herself admit she loved him, so afraid that in so doing she'd be setting herself up for another devistating injury. She hid behind her chair, locked herself in the gilded cage it provided and contented herself to watch the world pass her by without a second glance. That didn't mean she didn't want to be a part of it. She wanted so badly to escape the darkness of that tower, to leave with him and never look back, but she couldn't. She just couldn't.  
  
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Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime  
Let me lead you from your solitude  
Say you need me with you here, beside you  
Anywhere you go, let me go too   
That's all I ask of you...  
  
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Dick passed a hand gently along her cheek, pushing away a few stray strands of copper hair. "I love you, Barbara Gordon. I'm sorry that you can't see that. I just don't know what else to do. I can't make you understand that I would never hurt you. I would sooner cut out my own heart, can't you see that? I know it scares you, I'm sorry...but it scares me, too. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and if I have to wait the rest of my life for you to fully understand that, I will."  
  
Barbara's green eyes flickered open, the slightest hesitation clearly visible.  
  
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Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime  
Say the word and I will follow you...  
Share each day with me,   
Each night, each morning...  
  
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She managed a small smile, though she felt more like crying. Why did she have to be such a fool? Why couldn't she just listen to reason? Why did she have to... "God help me, Dick, I actually believe you would do it."  
  
His handsome face went completely blank. "Of course I would. I want the best, and I won't settle for anything less. There's no one else I want to spend the rest of my life with, you're it. I'd rather die alone than die with another woman in my arms. I love you. How many times do I have to say it before you understand?"  
  
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Say you love me...  
  
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Barbara bit her lower lip thoughtfully. "One more time."  
  
Dick blinked at her. Was she playing a trick on him? "Okay, I love you."  
  
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You know I do...  
  
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Barbara lifted one arm to hook around his neck. "I love you, too." She whispered, pulling his head down to her. "I always have, and I always will...although I think it only safe to warn you that if you break my heart, I'll kill you."  
  
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Love me - that's all I ask of you...  
  
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Their lips met in an explosion unlike anything either had experienced before. It was utter bliss. As the kiss gained momentum and her body began to respond to his closeness, Barbara realized something. This day was never going to be the same again. Dick had taken the worst day of her life, and filled it with the most beautiful memory she could have ever imagined. With one simple kiss, her Hell became Heaven. 


End file.
